Both The New Republic and MSNBC tried to twist an innocuous statement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt regarding the arrest of Wisconsin county Judge Hannah Dugan into something completely different, misrepresenting her words to imply the Trump administration wants to throw Supreme Court justices behind bars.

Dugan is the judge who was charged with two felonies for allegedly wrongfully aiding a criminal illegal alien to evade a federal arrest outside her courtroom.

Last week, during a conference in the White House briefing room, Leavitt called on Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy, who prefaced his question by recapping the Department of Justice’s actions.

“You guys arrested a Milwaukee County Circuit judge for allegedly helping illegal immigrants get away,” he began. “As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal judge, or even a Supreme Court justice?” he asked.

LET’S GO! Karoline Leavitt just announced that the administration is willing to arrest even Supreme Court Justices if they harbor illegal aliens.

Reporter: “As you guys look at other judges, would you ever arrest somebody higher up on the judicial food chain, like a federal… pic.twitter.com/bPdRGDgLCZ

— George (@BehizyTweets) April 28, 2025

“That’s a hypothetical question, again I [refer] you to the Department of Justice for individuals that they are looking at or individual cases. But let’s be clear about what this judge did: She obstructed federal law enforcement who were looking for an illegal alien in her courthouse. She showed that illegal alien the door to evade law enforcement officials. That is a clear-cut case of obstruction,” Leavitt replied.

“And so anyone who is breaking the law or obstructing federal law enforcement officials from doing their jobs is putting [themselves] at risk of being prosecuted, absolutely,” she affirmed.

That’s a perfectly appropriate answer.

If Justice Sonia Sotomayor or Chief Justice John Roberts himself did what Dugan reportedly did, or some other clear-cut violation of the law, they could be arrested too, depending on the severity of the offense.

As we heard so often from Democrats over the previous four years, “No one is above the law,” not even Supreme Court justices.

But yet, The New Republic took Leavitt’s answer and spun it into its “Trump’s an authoritarian” narrative.

“The Trump administration is showing open and direct hostility toward the judicial branch, identifying any judge who dares to defy them as an ‘activist judge,'” the Republic’s Malcolm Ferguson wrote.

“The arrest of Judge Dugan, the numerous court orders ignored by the administration, the eight immigration judges who have now been fired or put on leave, and now, Leavitt’s alarming answer are all clear indications that Trump has no plans to reel back his abuse of executive power.”

Blah, blah, blah. We’ve heard this type of rhetoric before from the left, but not, strangely, when they sought to put the Republican nominee for president away from life over — forgive the pun — trumped-up charges.

Similarly, MSNBC’s Steve Benen charged that Leavitt hedged on her response to the question regarding the hypothetical arrest of high-level judges.

He accused Attorney General Pam Bondi of making “plainly unethical” statements about Dugan’s conduct.

“By all appearances, however, Bondi doesn’t appear to care, which does not bode well as the president and his team intensify their broader offensive against the judiciary.”

Trump has, in fact, expressed his respect for the Supreme Court on multiple occasions.

TRUMP: “If the Supreme Court said, ‘bring somebody back [from deportation],’ I would do that. I respect the Supreme Court… I’m not talking about the lower court. I have great respect for the Supreme Court.”pic.twitter.com/lPDN44j77u

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 12, 2025

So is the Trump administration looking to arrest its justices?

Leavitt’s answer certainly doesn’t lead to that conclusion. She was merely stating the obvious fact that even members of SCOTUS, if they break the law, can be arrested, too.

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